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"Silver Threads"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Post war Cannon, Supernatural, Angst,
fluff, mention of lemon Pairings: 1x2 Summary: When Hiiro’s behavior goes astray after an animal attack on a mission Duo is forced to open his mind and make a dangerous choice. Beta’ed by Mechante Fille ^-^ "Silver Threads"
Ch 2 “Shit!” “What’s wrong?” “Cut my damn hand,” I groused. dabbing the heel of my palm with the greasy rag I kept in my back pocket when we did manual work. “Is it bad?” he asked, sliding out from under the condenser we were repairing. “Naw.” “Let me see.” I really didn’t like how anxious he was to have a look but I gave him my hand anyway. The urge to call Sally and demand some sort of explanation for his behavior gripped my stomach when I saw his fingers trembling and I suddenly felt ill again when he forcibly raised my palm to his mouth and suckled the wound. “What are you doing?” I breathed, unable to comprehend his actions. “It’s sweet,” he replied softly, then he was backing me up, trapping me against the wall and my chest tightened with a fear I had never thought to feel in my lifetime when he turned his blazing blue gaze upon me. I was afraid of him. “Don’t,” I begged softly when he leaned on the wall, effectively pinning me in place, but he merely grinned and moved in to nibble on my jaw. “Why?” he purred. “Afraid I might eat you up?” “This is not the time or place…” “No one’s around,” he countered, glancing at the doorway to the Preventer’s hanger we were working in. “I don’t want to,” I replied indignantly, attempting to free myself, but he stepped in front of me using his other hand to trap me and kissed me so passionately my knees almost buckled. “Seems like you want it to me,” he grinned while I tried to catch my breath. “Why are you doing this?” “I want you,” he whispered, sending a shiver down my spine but all I could think about was getting away. “Does the scent of blood excite you so much?” I had expected him to deny it or at the very least back off and question me but all he did was hiss an affirmative and proceed to sexually assault me. “Stop it!” I growled, fending off his roaming hands and questing lips. I cannot convey the dread that filled my heart when he responded by growling and slamming me against the wall. “I know what you want!” he snarled, kissing me brutally, whereupon I kneed him in the nuts and he fell gasping to the floor. “I fucking want Hiiro back!” I shouted in a sudden, spitting rage. “Geez, Duo,” he groaned. rolling around, “All you had to do was say no.” “I did say no, you ass!” He stopped and gazed up at me as if replaying the scene in his mind and suddenly I was looking down into the eyes I had fallen in love with. “I… I’m sorry.” He looked so lost all of a sudden as he pushed himself to his feet. “I didn’t mean to…” “Hiiro?” I gasped as his gaze dropped to my still seeping hand and his expression shifted. The last thing I saw was the terror that filled his eyes before he suddenly broke and bolted out the door. ** “Did you find him?” “There was a disturbance down by the docks,” Wufei replied over the radio. He and Sally had taken the bay side of the city. “Some guy apparently attacked a couple of stray dogs then shot a guy when he tried to break it up.” “You think it’s Hiiro?” I asked, turning my bike toward the docks. Two days he had been missing and all I could do was pray we had finally found him. “The squad on the scene has two men down and can’t get within five hundred yards of where he’s holed up,” he informed me. “Sound like your boy?” “Definitely.” Gods in Heaven I hoped so. When I arrived, the officers on the scene had hunkered down behind their cars, no doubt because my expert marksman of a lover kept picking them off. It had to be him. “Get down!” one of them growled, but I didn’t give a rat’s ass about his opinion. “Hiiro!?” I shouted, already moving toward the abandoned building they had surrounded. “Get back! Are you nuts!?” another officer yelled, but all I could really hear was the rushing of my blood in my ears when the unmistakable mop of Hiiro’s hair came into view. “Hiiro,” I gasped, my feet already taking me to him, but I stopped as if I had hit a brick wall when I found the door. He was filthy from head to toe. There were water bottles, or what he had used for water bottles, strewn all over. My stomach turned foul when I realized the stench was the discarded corpses of half eaten rats, and when he turned forlorn, empty gray eyes upon me, my knees hit the floor. “Hiiro?” I panted, trying desperately to hold it together. He was alive; everything else was negotiable. “I think,” he began in a tone almost devoid of life. “You may have been right.” “You’re sick,” I agreed, going to his side and he nodded, though his exhaustion only allowed for a slight movement, then he fell into my arms and my heart broke into a thousand pieces when he began to cry. “We’ve gotta get you out of here,” I told him, pulling my cell. A team of Preventer agents accompanied by Sally and Lady Une took over the area less than two minutes later. Hiiro refused to release me even to let Sally’s men carry him onto an ambulance, so I helped him stumble on instead. He was shaky and weak, but it was the way he kept jerking his head as if he had seen or heard something that wasn’t there that terrified me. Rabies came to mind, but surely Sally would have checked for that. “What is it, Hiiro?” Sally asked once we were on our way to the hospital. “Do you hear something?” she added when he jerked his head to the side again. “Sirens… I think,” he replied distantly. “We’re in an ambulance,” I reminded him. “No, they’re… somewhere else,” he said shaking his head as if to clear it. “I don’t know, it’s so hard to separate the sounds.” “It’s alright,” Sally soothed, giving him a sedative. “We’ll talk about all that later. Right now, just rest.” He nodded, seeming grateful for the medication as he curled up in my arms and fell into a light sleep. The following week was spent at the hospital running every medical and military test known to man. I think Sally even invented a few. The only conclusive evidence we could find was that his senses had somehow increased almost immeasurably in sensitivity. He could see in the dark almost better than he could in the light, tell the difference between an African grape and one grown in California and tell you what Une had for breakfast just by smelling her hand. He was stronger as well, as difficult as that was to believe, and I could feel the heat of his desire burning just under his skin, though he refused to reach out to me and quench his hunger. I was happy to find his appetite for normal food was healthy and decided we just wouldn’t talk about the rats. I really just didn’t want to know. “Duo?” “Hm?” I replied one night late in the evening while I was watching the news. He was lying in his bed like he always did, curled up on himself as he wavered between trembling and pure exhaustion. “Duo,” he whispered again and I was by his side with my heart in my throat. “What’s wrong?” I demanded, checking him over, but nothing seemed amiss other than he was trembling again. “It… hurts,” he whimpered and I just wanted to scream. What was it? Why couldn’t we find it and make it go away?! “What can I do?” I asked, feeling helpless and worthless and wholly inadequate to be his partner. “Please,” he groaned, rolling over just enough to grip the top of my jeans and my breath stilled when I saw the need in his eyes. “Will that help?” I asked uncertainly. “It burns,” he gasped, jerking me into his arms and I yelped as he kissed me so hungrily I thought he might eat me alive. “Let me lock the door,” I rasped, going to do just that, but when I turned around he had followed me. I swear I might have screamed if he hadn’t suddenly pinned me to the door and kissed me. I hadn’t heard a thing, had no idea how he had followed me so quietly and knew I was in for a rough ride when he literally ripped the shirt from my body. I had not anticipated the biting, he had never done that before and though he didn’t break the skin, it did leave red marks all over me. He also took me from behind, something that was out of character for him. We did it once in awhile but he usually preferred to see my face and when we did switch roles, I damn sure wanted to see his. I knew how badly he needed this release; I could feel it in the desperation of his touch and was determined to see it through. If anything I could do for him helped get him through this, helped bring him back to me, I was more than willing to comply, but I knew I had to draw the line when it came to letting him seriously harm me. He would never forgive himself. “Hiiro,” I panted, gritting my teeth against the pain. “Slow down.” But he didn’t seem to hear me or maybe he just couldn’t acknowledge because the moment he heard my voice he doubled his efforts and I bit down on the mattress beneath my face to keep from screaming as he pummeled me with a savage fury I simply could not comprehend. The sounds that ripped from his throat were not altogether human and the way he held me down, like an animal mating its breed, made me wish it would just be over. My body reacted, of course and I came right on schedule, just as he had planned. He held me so tight I had to fight for air as his body convulsed and shook inside me and when he finally collapsed by my side there was the most heartbreakingly beautiful confusion in his eyes. He kissed me and I rolled over hoping to hide the evidence of how badly he had used me, but he suddenly stilled and drew away sniffing at the air. “I hurt you,” he croaked, checking for the signs himself. “It’s not bad,” I reassured him. “Damn it,” he groaned, covering his eyes with his hand so I couldn’t see the pain. “Please don’t,” I begged, offering him a gentle smile as I pulled the hand away. “I knew it would be rough, but it’s what you needed.” He gazed into my eyes for a long moment before finally sighing and rolling away. “What’s happening to me?” he asked the ceiling. “Us,” I corrected him, drawing his gaze back down to mine. “We’re in this together.” He kissed me then, but it was soft and sweet and spoke of all the love he had ever shown me in the past before he pulled away and told me with words as well, “I love you.” “We’re gonna figure this out.” He went quite then and I got the feeling there was something he wanted to say but wasn’t. “What?” “Sometimes,” he began in a very soft, distant tone, “It’s like I can feel him.” “Him?” I asked, beating back my fear and my jealousy at the same time. What him? I would never in a million years have expected him to reply with… “The wolf.” I had no response, my mind was much too busy with the millions of possibilities that statement had wrought. “It’s like he’s inside of me.” What in the hell was he saying? “Like he’s becoming… a part of me.” “He’s dead,” I reminded him, pulling him tightly into my arms. “Yes,” he sighed, burrowing deep. “You killed him.” Damn straight. “With your knife.” “Well, the bullets didn’t seem to bother him much,” I chuckled but he didn’t laugh as he continued. “Your silver knife.” And it snapped. I understood where he was going with this but it was too damned far fetched to even consider it… except… the knife did have a silver inlay… and the bullets had not brought the wolf down. I drew the knife out of my boot and examined it thoughtfully. Hiiro had it made for me for Christmas the year before. It had our names inlaid on the blade in burnished silver. I jumped when he hissed softly and shied away. Curious as to the validity of his claim, I moved the knife closer and he hissed louder, glaring at the blade before I retracted it. “So, you’re trying to tell me you think you’re a werewolf?” I just could not take the possibility seriously. “I don’t know how to fix this,” he told me, sounding as frightened as I have ever heard him before he leaned in and kissed me soundly. He had my knife in his hand when he drew away and looked me dead in the eyes when he told me, “I will always love you. Never forget.” Then he laid the blade to his arm and I screamed almost as loud as he did when the skin began to burn. Shocked doesn’t even come close to the mortified expression that widened my eyes, the terror that gripped my heart as I sat and watched my lover’s face warp and change, his youthful beauty contorted by pain and rage and suddenly there was the face of a beast, then a split second later he growled and threw himself in the corner of the bed while the knife and my ass hit the floor. “Hiiro!” I gasped, launching myself at him. He tried to shy away, tried to avoid my touching him, but I fought and yelled and forced him into my arms until we were wrapped painfully tight around each other. “I love you,” I kept telling him and the more I said it the tighter his grip became. “Duo,” he begged in a voice not entirely his own. “Get me out of here… please… this is the wrong place to be.” I didn’t even question it. He wanted to leave; we were as good as gone. I left a note for Sally to let her know we had left of our own free will and would not appreciate a search party, grabbed what little possessions we had and slipped him out in the dead of the night. He came to life the moment we hit the pavement, taking my hand and dragging me along in his wake. I had no idea where we were going but as long as we were together I can’t say I really gave a damn. He was faster than he used to be, and displayed some of the new strength when he ripped open a gate baring our way down an ally. I had seen him bend bars before, but watching him snap a three-inch thick chain just gave me the willies. He took me out of town and into the surrounding woods and I felt like my legs might just fall off when he finally led me to an old abandoned shack out in the foot hills the following night. He was strong, stronger than I felt I could imagine, but when I collapsed into the ratty old couch in the tiny living room, he fell in right beside me. The only thing was, his problem wasn’t the long hike. “Again?” I chuckled, noticing how he trembled. “No,” he snipped. “It’s not like I mind,” I smiled, laying a hand on his shoulder but he pulled away as if it burned. “I won’t hurt you again,” he explained, refusing to look at the pain in my eyes. “Then we’ll just be careful,” I reasoned, snaking around him to give him a kiss and he groaned deep in his chest and gave in. It was better, he was in control throughout but I could feel the enormous amount of energy it took for him to keep it in check. Five hours and several ounces of bodily fluids later we lay in a tangled heap on the floor surrounded by the couch cushions and I spent a long time just looking at his beautiful face. He had finally fallen into that light sleep that seemed to be all he could manage anymore but it gave me some time to think about what was happening. As farfetched as it seemed, I couldn’t get the image of the wolf he had almost become out of my mind. My boyfriend was a werewolf. How weird is that? “I won’t lose you,” I whispered, gently stroking his hair, but he only twitched and continued the short breathing that accompanied his sleep. Whatever happened, I would stay by his side and if it came down to it, we would die together. I still had my knife and I knew he would rather die than live knowing he had caused my death. However, I wasn’t willing to accept those terms. There had to be a way and I was determined to find it. I never did sleep that night; it seemed a terrible waste of what little time we might have left. I was tired, hungry and had never been more acutely aware of the new moon rising. We slept mostly during the day. He went out at night, showing up with game that had been killed in… unusual ways. We didn’t speak of it. We also didn’t talk about why we were holed up in the middle of nowhere. All I knew was that he needed me there, so I remained. I was unprepared when he began to talk to me about his childhood one night. We had made love and once again he had lost control to the point of mild injury, but it was nothing compared to the pain I saw him going through. As hard as it must have been to bear the physical changes, the real horror was his fear of losing me. I think he knew, he knew if it came down to it I would release him. He knew I would follow in his wake, but we didn’t speak of that either. Two nights before the full moon, he finally lost control and hurt me bad. It was during sex and I ended up with a dislocated hip and fractured arm. It was getting harder for him to tame it. My heart froze just a little when he showed little remorse for the injuries. He was changing inside and out, turning into something wild and free, something that needed nothing it couldn’t take, something that needed no one by its side. I did my best to dress the wounds and wondered if he would ever return the next night because I didn’t see him until after dawn. He looked as if he had run through a thousand miles of brush. He also bore the signs of having been in a fight with something with big teeth, but I got the feeling he had won. Had he become a wolf? Had he actually transformed like in the old legends and roamed the countryside? “You have to leave here,” he told me in no uncertain terms, to which I replied… ”Don’t be stupid.” “The moon will be full tonight,” he reminded me. “I know,” I replied softly, laying my knife on the small table by the end of the couch. He glanced at it, then grinned wickedly and strode across the room to take me into his arms. “I love you,” he laughed, holding me tight. “I know,” was the best I could do. “I will always love you,” he told me, then kissed me like there was no tomorrow. I didn’t understand until I realized my knife was gone when he backed away. “NO!” I shouted, just barely catching his arm before he plunged it into his chest, but he was a lot stronger than me. Something made him stop though and we crumbled to the floor. “I can’t make you do this,” he choked. “I don’t understand any of this,” I told him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. “But I won’t give up.” I wanted to make love to him, really make love to him and show him just how deeply I cared, but his condition and my injuries wouldn’t allow it, so we just sat there on the floor for the longest time. Then he took me fishing. Odd though it was, I understood it to be something pleasant to pass the time. He showed off shamelessly and didn’t even eat any of them in front of me. It was strange watching him catch them with his hands or teeth. I couldn’t believe how quick he was and we both ended up soaked to the bone. We returned to the cabin in the late evening and I knew from the way he walked it was becoming very hard for him to move freely. He made sure my knife was securely in my boot, then locked up the house and we laid by the fire on the floor and just held one another. I woke in the dead of the night alone. “Hiiro?” The only reply was a low throated growl that bore no resemblance to anything even remotely human. I was on my feet half a second later, staring into the flaming blue eyes of a chocolate brown wolf. “Hiiro,” I breathed as my determination took over and everything else just checked out. It was like being in battle again, only this time I had no intention of killing my opponent. When he came for me, I couldn’t do it. I just could not bring myself to sink a knife in his chest and take his life. In that instant the entire plan warped and changed in my head and I raised my arm and let him sink his huge fangs into it. It hurt like hell and I knew he had hit a vein by the amount of blood that gushed forth. Damn, but he was strong! It was all I could do to bring the knife around and touch it to him, but the moment it made contact he yelped and thrashed and crouched very pissily by the far wall. “Sorry,” I told him, knowing I needed to stop the bleeding, but if I put the knife down he was going to kill me sure as the moon was high in the sky, so I backed up against the wall, slid down it and tried to put as much pressure on the wound as I could. He growled and flanked and tried several times to get at me, nipping my left foot at one point, but I managed to stay conscious and fend him off with the knife until the first rays of dawn peeked through the shuttered windows and he fell into that light sleep. I’m not sure when I passed out but I awoke in his trembling arms and smiled up at his blurry face in spite of the fact that I was shaking like a leaf. “Why?!” he sniffed and I realized he was crying. “C… can’t kill… one of your own,” I grinned weakly and wondered how long I had before the infection turned and granted me the same strength it had given to Hiiro. “I didn’t want you to be like me,” he sobbed, gathering me in his arms. “Where ever you go,” I told him, soaking in his warmth. “I’m there.” “Not here,” he cried. “Not like this.” “Straight into the mouth of hell,” I told him, then made him kiss me in spite of his bawling and my inability to steady my hand. By ten o’clock that morning I was not only feeling much better, but was giving him a run for his money in the overactive libido department. Gods, I had never felt more alive in my life! Everything was like new, even Hiiro. I could smell him, really smell his true scent, not that faint hint I had been cursed to live with all this time. And it was good, I was as strong as him and perfectly able to not only match him but my healing rate was astronomical. The injuries he had caused disappeared without my notice and it appeared his further damaging me was going to be one hell of a challenge. There was only one problem. “What are we supposed to tell the guys?” “You want to try and go back?” he asked. “It’d be sort of boring just hanging out in the woods forever,” I reasoned. “Besides, we only need to take off the week of the full moon right?” “I suppose,” he smiled, kissing my jaw. “So, all we have to do is set it up for one week a month of… personal leave,” I chuckled when he bit down on my lobe. “Then we can come out here and…” “Shag each other rotten,” he laughed, rolling on top of me. “Is it over?” I inquired. “It apparently passes with the waning of the moon,” he replied. “So we can go home now?” “Where ever you go,” he smiled, kissing me warmly. “I’m there.” owari :) |
